Monday, April 28, 2014

I thought that I will be welcomed by the cold breeze of Melbourne when I head back from Hong Kong, but instead, it was hot summer wind that just keep blowing onto my face. There really isn't many things to do in Melbourne besides hanging out at the beach during summer time. So, I packed my beach towels, sunscreen and speedo, boarded the tram and headed down to Port Melbourne Beach.

Some day after, Beyonce was coming to town for her Mrs Carter concert tour. It was a night filled with lots of shouting and singing. What an amazing concert!! I have gotten myself prepared for this concert few months before, such as getting myself a vintage theatre binocular from Camberwell flea market. It is crucial for 'economic seats' concert goers. I have tried my best to zoom her face to the max using my iPhone during the concert, unfortunately I only managed to get her whiteout face :(

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

After the trip in and around Aberdeen, we went back to stay in the central Hong Kong for 2 nights via this famous app called Airbnb. It does look somehow slightly different that what we saw in the picture although it has a beautiful rooftop chilling space. I suppose you should lower your expectation to 70% before you decided to book apartments in Asia. I managed to discover the best food that I've ever had in Hong Kong. It is at the food court in Sheung Wan market. I ordered Ma Po Tofu (the best one i've had in my life), crispy pork with sweet chilli dipping sauce, and steam fish.

After a whirlwind trip in Hong Kong, it was great to be back to Melbourne (it's always good to be home). And the winter was almost over, the flower starts to blossom everywhere. In my next post I'm going to write about picnic at the beach and Beyonce's concert. So stay tune!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

So, after coming back from Macau, we went to stay at a boat in Aberdeen for about 2 days, just to get the real experience of the real Hong Kong as Aberdeen was one of the earliest settlement. Water trading was used the major transportation system throughout the area.

We took the water taxi to the floating boat. Please be aware that you should always be negotiating and come out with an agreeable price when you take these water taxis as they are really trying to charge as much as they can. We passed by the legendary floating restaurant in which a lot of famous movies was being filmed in there.

Since we're staying at the Aberdeen, it was just very close to Stanley and we can just catch the local bus from Aberdeen station. It was a super hot and humid day and we decided to hop off from the Repulse Bay stop and had a swim there. The water was murky but it was cooling enough for us to shed off excess heat. There were heaps of people there and there was this old guy in his 60 wearing nothing but a skimpy g-string showing off on the beach. It was definitely a culture shock for me given that I've been living in Australia for quite a long time and have never seen anyone this courageous.

Stanley reminds me of Batu Ferringgi minus the resorts. It is a very westernized town with a lot of pubs and cafe lining along the beach. I would recommend to go there during evening time as the light that shines onto the building as well as reflected from the water creates a beautiful yet calming experience.

The next day, we took the bus to Ocean Park. There isn't a direct route for the bus from Aberdeen to Ocean Park. You would need to ask the local and the bus driver to remind you to hop off the bus when its near the Ocean Park and walk over a fly-over and some small alleys (about 10 minutes) to get to the entrance of Ocean Park.

Ocean Park is amazing if you love all the thrilling rides as most of the roller coaster rides are built on the hillside. But going in summer time is a torture.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The next morning, we managed to find an excellent Hong Kong breakfast place in Causeway Bay. They sell all the real and typical Hong Kong breakfast, I'm just drooling by looking at the picture that I uploaded below. We had to wake up very early to catch the boat over to Macau.

We reached Macau in the afternoon, checked into hotel and took the free bus (the free bus takes you to their own casino from the main bus station, and thus, trying to save money, you can actually wait for the bus from your hotel to get to the bus station and then from there, hop onto one of those bus to your preferred casino) to the legendary Venetian Casino.

I've never been to Las Vegas but judging from tons of movies that I watched over the years that made reference to Las Vegas, I guess Macau is second to the real Las Vegas. It was mind blowing to know that all these casinos are gathered within this small island it almost become like a fantasy land. I can't say I love Macau because I only spent a day there and I was in the casino most of the time (sadly I lost $20 playing Jackpot). It was a really weird place to me it felt like Genting Highland in Malaysia minus the theme park part. It's not really a place for anyone who does't like to gamble as it seems like the only activity there.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Peak is quite a good place to visit if you have a lot of patience in queuing up for at least 45 minutes in waiting for the special tram that travels up to the hill top. I quite enjoy the track that cuts through old and new apartments, forest and finally reaching to the top. The view is definitely breathtaking, all the buildings seem to accumulate on one side and if you look at the other side of the hill, its all the untouched natural lushness of the forest. Such a massive contrast.

After visiting The Peak, I was absolutely thirsty and of course, I went and got myself the best iced milk coffee in Hong Kong, the Lan Yuen Fong stall, situated right in the city. Went back to the same bakery I mentioned in my last post to get more egg tart and I think I bumped into the Hong Kong celebrity. I'm 70 to 80% sure that it is her in that picture, her name is Almen Wong Pui-Ha (黃佩霞)

So, I went to the Victoria Harbour in Kowloon, and this time, I went to the exact opposite side of it. I'm looking over the Kowloon and although it doesn't have the long stretched of skyscrapers like Hong Kong Island, it is just as beautiful and strangely calming. I also spotted the sailing ship that defines the old Hong Kong.

Monday, March 31, 2014

So, I took the ferry over to Kowloon, I don't know how to describe it, it's a totally different feeling than in Hong Kong Island itself. It seems to be a lot more dense in Kowloon with really tall, cluttered apartments. Each of the street in Kowloon seems to be different and specialising in selling something. Just like the picture below, it was taken on the 'Gold Fish Street'. As suggested by the name, the street does not only filled with aquariums but with heaps of pet shops too. It was a heaven for me!

We kept walking and walking till the night time so that we can catch the 8.00pm light works at Victoria Harbour. The light works is a type of collaboration between famous buildings in Hong Kong Island to shoot out laser and different type of lights to attract tourist who will gather and wait at the Victoria Harbour to witness the even every night. It was beautiful and worth the wait.

It was a really hot day, I went back to the hotel to get showered and changed before heading out to Lan Kwai Fong for some drinks with Nic. Together, we took the tram from Causeway Bay into the City Centre. I love the nightlife vibe in Lan Kwai Fong, it reminds me of the same kind of nightlife in Phuket where the whole streets are filled with pubs and bar.

The second day, we went to have Breakfast at Muji. It's literally the first Muji I've seen to have it's own restaurant. It was slightly pricey but so healthy and delicious.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

I guess what fascinates me about Hong Kong is the exposed pipe works, the overwhelming signboards and the stacked up apartments that seem to stretched beyond the horizon that makes Hong Kong truly unique itself.

In this post, you can also see that I posted up the picture of Tai Cheong Bakery. Why? Because it sells one of the best egg tarts in Hong Kong. It's definitely a must-go place if you're visiting Hong Kong. Also, as a typical tourist, I took the ferry over to Kowloon just to snap a few shots of the cityscape as the evidence that I have been to Hong Kong.